Tuesday, April 15, wasn’t just tax day. It was a day of history in the making for the West Hancock boys basketball high school program.
Gavin Grothaus and Lewis Siegfried became the first two players from the same team to move on to the next level as they signed national letters of intent to play college basketball for Carl Sandburg College in Galesburg, Ill.
West Hancock head basketball coach Jeff Dahl said it was a big day for the program.
“These guys have put in the work and now they are getting the rewards of it,” Dahl said.
Siegfried averaged 13.1 points, 5.0 assists and 4.5 rebounds per game this past season as a senior. He shot 48 percent from the field and 36.5 percent on 3-pointers. Siegfried made the all-tournament teams at the Crimson Classic, Macomb-Western Holiday Tournament and the Hancock County Invitational Tournament his senior year. He is an All-WCC basketball player the last two years.
Grothaus averaged 12 points, 6.0 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game and shot 54 percent from the field in his senior season as a Titan. He was All-West Central Conferenc both his junior and senior years and was the KHQA Superfan Shootout game MVP this past February.
“Having Lewis here and going to the same place makes it 10 times better,” Grothaus said. “Having someone to adapt with me on the next level will really be helpful. It will be new things for both of us, so we will be able to grow and learn together. Not just during the basketball season but outside it, too. I thought I could play college basketball someday, but I didn’t think I would have a friend go to the same school as me.
“It’s kind of crazy.”
Crazy enough to be a dream come true.
“You dream to play at the next level, so it is exciting that I can,” Siegfried said. “I am excited to sign today and move on to the next level. I expected to be here after playing basketball my whole life.”
To excel at the next level, it will take hard work.
Grothaus thinks improving his three-point shooting will be the biggest adjustment at the next level.
“But I want to gain some weight and make sure my ankle is in top shape and get my athleticism back and I will be good to go,” Grothaus said of an injury he suffered during his senior season.
Siegfried spent a lot of time on his shot early in his high school career.
“I know what to expect, so I will work even harder than I have before,” Siegfried said.
“Hopefully it pays off.”
Having a friendly face around in Grothaus will be helpful, he said. They already work out together.
“We are rooming together at college, so it will be fun,” Siegfried said. “My biggest adjustment will be getting used to the college lifestyle and the way the college game is played. It is more physical so I have to get stronger and get ready for it.”
Stepping into college life and the upgraded game on the court will be a challenge.
“I think the adjustment will be minimal for both of them,” said Ryan Twaddle, the head coach for the Sandburg Chargers, “because the schedule they played as seniors has prepared them for the next level.”
Dahl has coached Siegfried and Grothaus through their careers.
“It’s the little step that make the big steps possible,” Dahl said. “So it starts with getting stronger and becoming a better shooter, then getting better at another skill of the game. That is what made them who they are today. It is a team effort as well as an individual effort. Their 70-some wins in three years is impressive.”
Twaddle said Grothaus and Siegfried will be good fits for the Chargers basketball team.
“We are ecstatic,” Twaddle said. “Lewis and Gavin are such great kids. They are great people. They are tremendous competitors as basketball players.”
Twaddle said the Titans played a great schedule this year and challenged themselves.
“They are able to come in and give us really good things right away,” Twaddle said. “We do like to push the ball. We do get up and down in transition. And we do like to shoot threes.”
Sandburg attempted more 3-point shots than 2-point shots this past season.
“They both shoot the ball extremely well. They are willing passers,” he said. “They are willing to make that extra pass for the shot. They are very high IQ players.”
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